The Imperials

six: untitled

Maya.

Niall flung up from his position, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Niall stop!" My brother's fist blindingly connects with Mr. Piggy's face in the most expeditious state I've ever seen him in. A slight crack comes from Porkchop's cheek bones before two men close is on Niall, pushing him to the ground and attacking him with tasers.

"Get off of him!" I roar and push the guy behind me aside. The duct tape holding my wrists together somehow manage to disconnect as I slam my hand downwards with power. Closing in on the guys, I knock one of them out; elbowing him in the head then instantly grabbing the gun in his holster. I pull the safety and point it towards the guy with the taser, my eyes staring pointedly which eventually gets him to lower his weapon. "I could've handled that." Niall begrudgingly stated, clutching onto his arm as him limps.

"You sure 'bout that? Was that just my imagination or you weren't just huddled on the ground getting beat up by two men exactly your size." I fight back. My eyes continue to bore holes into the man in front me, hoping that would do any good by letting us go. Niall scoffed a proclaiming scoff before wincing.

"Children children, please calm down. We won't do any harm. In fact, we're hardly the bad guys here." An older face approaches us, a serene vibe immediately shedding off from his wrinkly self. "Strange, isn't that what all bad guys say?" Niall spitefully curses at him. "I suppose. But would you trust me, I ensure you that my guys are nothing but helpful to people. Moreover me." His smile is familiar; warm, somewhat congenial and soft, reminding me of cinnamon for some reason. "Very modest of you." I state.

"Put the gun down Paris." I stop. Paris. "In case you're unaware, my sister's name is Maya Lockhart, not Paris you dumbass crack head." My brother was just as unhinged as me, his eyebrows furrowed when I managed to catch a glimpse of him over my shoulder. "Well, then I obviously know more than you, Ivan, project 11. My name is Doctor Gregory, I'm in charge of the military training and medical lab of base 5. You can call me Levi, sir or Doctor Gregory- whichever is fine." Levi extends his hand to shake my or Niall's hand; both of us decline. The grip on my gun loosens as I deepen myself in thought. Too much however, as I soon realize the sharp wave of tranquility wash over my body; my legs soften and gravity eventually pulls me down.

"Maya!"Niall's voice is the last thing I hear before my head hits the cement ground, eyes blurry. I blink once more and instantly, I see my brother fall in front of me as well. Both of us stare muzzled at each other and the last thing I see is my brother's pained face before I completely black out.

**********
Silver. Dark. Eerie and enticing; all the words my conciousness had a chance to describe the current setting of where I lay, slowly yet painfully getting up from the ground. Before I could gather myself and call for my brother, a sharp wave of discomfort and pain invade my entire body and its senses. I look down to find my shirt gone and only my black tights and sports bra on me, excluding the unrecognizeable sweater draped over my shoulders.
"What the-" my vision widens as I take in the large
white bandage strapped around my body- a dark red stain slowly seeping through. Sh*t. I thought to myself as my fingers slowly glide over the soft material shielding my wound. Hell, I don't even know how I got it in the first place.

"Maya." I heard a male voice whisper. I whip my head around, unable to find the owner of the voice. "Niall?" I call. I turn to the dark corners of the room where a figure slowly emerges, a small smile edged on his face. "Oh my gosh, you're okay!" I quickly run to my younger brother and throw my arms around his neck. "Ouch." Niall hisses and I instantly move back, noticing the same white bandage on his bare torso. "What did they do to you?" He asks first, taking sight of my fresh wound. "What did they do to the both of us?!" I place my hands on Niall's shoulder, gripping it in unease. My head starts getting light and my torso feels as if it doesn't belong to me. But strangely, I feel a lot better and stronger than when I woke up just minutes ago. And by the glitter of Niall's eyes staring back at me, I can tell he feels the same.

"It's called CM-Bionegetics BD-1,"
Niall and I both turn to whoever decided to come into life and scare the crap out of both of us. We turn to one corner of the room, where sat a male figure of whom we hadn't seen a while ago. "-otherwise clarified as Cottonmouth Modification. The base injects it into every new arrival at camp to test the person's system and ability to act and fight." I narrow my eyes the guy, examining his features. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, a bit of an accent that I can't find out. He looks about the same age as me but I don't bother to comprehend it.
"Is that why I feel..." Niall pauses mid-sentence to find the correct word. "-Stronger?" The unknown guy fills in the blank and Niall nods in reply.
"Exactly. It enhances the host's capability of fending for itself in sense of battle and chaos. Only takes a few minutes to do so, and only in mid-chaos is it stimulated in the senses. The best of the Wanted can handle the full blow of CM. Those who are too weak, like the Broken, are killed by it. Thats why they only use the syrum on rare occasions, like me. And apparently, you guys as well." He finishes explaining the backstory, yet a thousand questions still linger in my mind. Aunt Pam and dad talked a lot about the Broken and the Wanted and for us to be careful not to enter eirjer category. They just didn't explain enough for us to understand why.

"So those who survive are among one of the strongest?" I repeat in question. The guy nods and speaks once more; "If the host is not strong enough, they just use the CM Syrum to kill them- the broken." Niall and I both take in the information and nod slowly.
"And you survived it? You're one of the strongest?" The unknown figure pauses before answering Niall's question with a curtly nod. "And apparently, so are you guys."
Silence enterlaces with the heavy atmosphere, only the small ray of light from the tiny window of the silver door shows sign of life besides us.
"Now. Because I helped you and explained what the CM Syrum is, you guys...you need to help me." More silence.
"Why should we?" I ask. The kid raises his eyebrows and smiles. "Because from what I see, you may not survive the time you spend here. ADAM officials may come and take you both before we get a chance to escape. That's why I need your help."

I look at my brother, eyes reading a hard warning. "So you need our help to escape." Niall states in a questioning tone. The guy in front of us quickly nods. "Tonight, when the base guards come check on us, we take our hit."

It only takes a minute or two for Niall and I, staring endlessly at each other, sorting out the possibilities before drawing a conclusion. My little brother turns his hard gaze to look at him.
"What's your plan?"